This virtual Masterclass connects a small group of UBC students with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson to discuss her writing, music and current work. The talk will be moderated by Glen Coulthard, an associate professor in the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program and Department of Political Science at UBC. Dr. Coulthard is the author of Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition and a co-founder of Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, a decolonial, Indigenous land-based post-secondary program operating on his traditional territories in Denendeh (Northwest Territories). The class is free and open to the broader UBC community, but participants are asked to register in advance.
About the Speaker:
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the intersections between politics, story and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity.
Working for two decades as an independent scholar using Nishnaabeg intellectual practices, Leanne has lectured and taught extensively at universities across Canada and the United States and has twenty years experience with Indigenous land based education. She holds a PhD from the University of Manitoba, and teaches at the Dechinta Centre for Research & Learning in Denendeh. Leanne is the author of seven previous books, including her new novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies.